A new Celtic roots band has been attracting attention south of the border with their demo CD and the group is gearing up for local shows this fall.

The Clanns formed in April after Al Black put an ad on Craigslist that he wanted to start a Celtic rock band. Two of the current members met him in Qualicum Beach.

“So we all met at a coffee shop and it was pretty apparent that we were all going to get along,” he said, adding that they were chatting about the music they like when the two men started singing.

“These two guys just broke out in song in the middle of the coffee shop and start singing these cool Irish folk songs and I thought, this is really neat.”

The Clanns is now a five-piece band made up of accomplished musicians and Black said beyond the cover tunes they have already started working on originals. The music is versatile, he said, adding it’s fun, danceable and often, cheeky.

The Clanns recorded a demo of four cover songs last month. A station in Vancouver called Fairchild Radio picked up their songs in their Celt in a Twist show and, after hearing their music on a podcast, a listener in New Orleans emailed them. The group also got a request from Texas for their demo CD.

“So it’s taken off quicker than we thought it was going to take off,” Black said.

The Clanns will be playing at the Queens in Nanaimo July 31, followed by local band Lazy Mike and the Rockin’ Recliners, a fundraiser for CHLY radio.

The group is booked to play at the Shady Rest in Qualicum Beach in November but Black is looking forward to booking some more local shows in the meantime.

For more on the group, including music samples, visit www.reverbnation.com/theclanns or find the group on Facebook.

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